Wait For Moonrise
by Ms.TL Cote
Summary: A vampire love story. Not twilight based.
1. Nightmare Means Prophecy?

**A/N: Hey there my name is Taylor and, I made up this story and these characters, and I apologize if they seem alike to some others, but to my knowledge, I OWN THEM! Haha. I love vampires, like the ones in Ann Rice and sexy ones like Edward Cullen. So…here it is! Hope you like it!**

The five nights before summer ended, my dreams terrorized me. Every time I awoke the same; not wanting to sleep again in anxiety that they would return to me. I never failed to scare myself into tears, and I constantly wondered through my waking hours what was wrong with me.

I rarely understood why my inner self could gather such a menacing thing for me to dream about, but there was no way for me to know.

To everyone that wasn't me, these dreams didn't seem like such a big deal, but for some reason, it bothered me more than I liked. For some reason, these nightmares felt different then any other I'd had.

But I ignored them as best I could and finally got to this point, where I'm walking down the corridor of my high school, bewildered by how much people had changed in the three month period we had away from this place.

My eyes were searching; every one who had their backs to me kept looking back, paranoid because of my probing. I almost laughed, wondering how much of a creep I looked like at the moment. It was certainly not the finest way to start my junior year here a West Van-Buren High School.

I was anticipating this moment all summer long; the return of my best friend Caleb. He went to his Great Aunt Kinsley's seasonal home in Europe for the entire summer. The last time we saw each other, it ended with a good bye kiss that, I believe, left both of us baffled by this new attraction. We've been friends ever since sixth grade when he moved here from California, but I never saw this coming. Caleb seemed too much like a friend, or maybe I was just avoiding something inside that told me I thought of him otherwise.

He was tall; every time a girl stood next to him, he was usually towering over her, like he towers over me. Not only was he tall, but he was skinny and fit. Caleb was so comfortable with me that he often never wore a shirt, the way he was content, and revealed an impressive set of abs for a thin boy. To match the pleasant physique, he had the most adorable face I'd seen on an eighteen year old (he's a junior too, but he stayed back!). Caleb had dark, dark brown hair, which he wore gelled sometimes, and it was usually covering his forehead, on the brink of covering his bright sea green eyes. He had small features, but his lips were fairly full, and he had his lower lip pierced. They were definitely soft, especially when they touched mine…

Here I go, getting into detail about his lips. This was insanity that I had thoughts about him that he would obviously find either disturbing or hilarious, but in each scenario I pictured me standing there, a look of complete seriousness on my face, but Caleb pointing and laughing hysterically and eventually walking away from me, continuing his little giggle.

That is _such_ a Caleb thing.

Gathering away from the muddle in my membrane, I refocused my attention to the girl approaching me.

"Elle! Hey!" It was Jessica, my female best friend.

I coy smile and said, "Hey Jess, how was your summer?"

"It was awesome! I have so much to tell you but I have to get to the office real quick; a few alterations in my schedule. I'll see you at lunch!" Jessica squeezed my shoulder and continued running down the hall.

I gave a guttural sigh, and kept my slow pace until I finally reached the part of the atrium I always claimed next to the entrance.

People passed by me, occasionally giving a short greeting while they walked, but I wasn't all there. I started thinking about my nightmares…again.

It began like any normal good dream; I was sitting on the grass letting the sun soak up the dew drops left from the passing rainstorm. Next to me Caleb sat too, but this wasn't right. Instead of joking and talking like we always do, he was glaring at me. Caleb tried to put as much distance between us as possible, like he was disgusted by my presence, and he was even talking to me like I was his bitter enemy.

"Why would you come near me? You know that I can't stand you," He'd say, and in turn I would reach out to him.

Next he would say, "Touch me, and it's the last thing you'll ever do. I hate you. You're the reason that your father committed suicide, don't you remember? You're the reason for this…"

Caleb would point to the end of the field my back was facing, and I would turn to see the bloodiest massacre one could imagine. I'd cover my face protectively as the sun disappeared from the sky.

"Stop crying," Caleb would say. "You're pathetic."

Something would change, I couldn't ever remember what, but something would shake me and I would suddenly be lying in my grave. Everyone that I had "driven to suicide" was standing around it, blood streaming down their faces and onto my white dress that I had on.

"Why are you smiling?" They would ask and I had a mirror put in front of me. What I saw scared me half to death. It was me, but I was unrecognizable to myself. I had the sides of my mouth cut and stitched into a permanent smile, and my eyes were pure black. My face was pale, but it had cuts strewn all over it.

The last thing I remember is seeing Caleb start shoveling dirt into my grave.

I shivered, regretting my eerie memory of the past. Nothing bothered me more than this nightmare, but I was suddenly distracted as he walked through the door.

It was Caleb, but it wasn't. He was still the same in the face, but he was taller, if that's even possible, and still lean but even more fit. The pale skin was foreign to me because he was usually much darker than as I saw him now. I knew it was him standing there, but at the same time I felt like he was not just atypical from his looks, but the way he stood.

"Caleb?" My voice called, shaky in the middle of his name.

He glanced to me, expressionless, and looked away as if I was someone he didn't know all too well. This was bad.

I walked over to him, smiling to hide my suspicion and curiosity. A strange knot formed in my stomach that made me almost want to vomit.

When I finally reached his side, he didn't look at me, but he held his awkward pose. Being this close to him, I realized how badly he towered over me now. This seemed physically impossible.

"Not even going to say hi to me?" I said jokingly, and I was surprised by how composed and calm my voice seemed aloud.

He shot a narrow-eyed glance at me before saying, "No."

"What's wrong?" His sudden hostility made my voice meek.

Caleb's head tilted back, like he'd told me this a hundred times. "Just because I choose not to talk to you means that something's wrong? I think something's _just_ right."

I could feel a dry, crack in my throat that was turning into a valley as I stood there, rendered speechless by this similarity in my nightmare.

I figured I'd ignore it, and keep trying.

"What'd you do this summer?" I asked him, shying away from eye contact.

He scoffed. "I was at my aunt's house. I already told you that."

My mouth was open, trying to form a response and finally I said, "Yeah, right. So wanna do something after school?"

I moved closer, letting his scent fill my nostrils. However different he now was, his smell was still the same; musky.

Caleb jumped back a few feet, giving me the most unpleasant stare I'd ever receive. It made my chin quiver and one tear race down my hot cheek.

"Caleb, talk to me. What did I do?" I reached my hand out, and he just shook his head, turned, and walked away.

Returning home from school, I sat down on my front steps, not caring that it was pouring out. I let everything get soaked for a moment while I let the fact that Caleb now loathed me sink in, skin deep.

What was going on?


	2. Living With The Troubled Teen

**A/N: So this is chapter two…obviously, lol. I owe my devotion to my loving cousin/twin/bestfriend/writer Neesha aka Miss Twitch etc. It's a rather short one, but I have others following! So enjoy!**

"Is something wrong sweetheart?" My mother asked. I was sitting at the table, not touching my dinner. "Did something happen today?"

I shook my head, and shoved a bite of chicken in my mouth to satisfy her. "No…"

"Are you sure? You seem a little down..." My mother's sad attempt to convince me to speak almost made me want to tell her, but I just couldn't with out crying.

I cleared my throat, and took another huge bite. I said, "I'm okay mom, really."

Looking towards her thin face, I could see the agony in her blue eyes. The agony of a mother who had lost her husband earlier this year, and the agony of having a seventeen year old daughter who wont open up to her. Her slight creases above her eyebrows revealed all of the time she spent scrunching them while she was crying, while she was figuring out funeral arrangements.

The sight was getting too unbearable, so I looked back at my plate full of food that I'd never finish, and picked it up on my way to the kitchen. It was just on the other side of my dining room wall.

My plate of chicken got dumped in the trash bin, and I set it in the sink, just staring at it with intense eyes. There was nothing to focus on, but I stared at it much too hard for an average object.

Before I knew it, a thick salty shield was blocking my vision and my sobs came much to fast to compose myself within the minute. They were loud and annoying, but I couldn't control them at all. Just flashing back to my previous day, there was nothing I could do but noisily blubber.

My mothers' rushed footsteps filled the small hallway, and soon she was standing in the doorway, wondering what was wrong with me, her pathetic daughter. I could hear her impatient breaths.

"What's going on? What's happened Elle?" She spewed, keeping her distance, but wanting to put her arms around my shoulders and comfort me.

I stuttered, "N-Nothing mom. Please j-j-just go a-away!"

She kept her position, leaning forward to speak directly to me. "Please talk to me honey. Let me in…"

I stood taller, letting my shoulders align and pushing my tears inside for later reference. The shield over my eyes was soon gone, and I was just angry.

"Stop talking to me like I'm ten, I'm seventeen." I muttered angrily, my eyes still damp from crying.

My mother, Irene, hunched away from me, wary over my instantaneous change in emotion, and still worried.

"I just want to talk to you Elle. We barely associate anymore!" Her voice sounded like a sob, but she still had her forlorn face on.

I scoffed, letting the sadness drip away. "I don't wanna talk mom. Just stay out of my business."

My metaphorically poisonous statement left mother stunned, so I took the chance to exit dramatically, and escape to my dungeon; also known as my room. This was my shrine; it had nothing to do with the outside world, or its problems, just me. The walls were painted to my liking; two black, and two turquoises. The walls simply had my artwork mounted on them in thick-rimmed frames; my anime was my dad's favorite, but it was never mine. It was the least I ever did.

He was always so proud of me though. There was never one piece he didn't compliment me on, and I appreciated it even more when he criticized it.

Plopping on my un-made bed, I pet my cat Twitch softly as he purred in his sleep. He was a grey cat, but he was special for his black spots that covered his white stomach. Twitch was like no other cat anyone saw, he was special and he was also the only one in the world who could listen to me rant.

Except for _Caleb_.


	3. Jealousy

**A/N: So this would be the third! Enjoy! **

**9 MONTHS LATER**

Twitch woke me by waving his tail in my face annoyingly. It was bad enough that I barely got any sleep that night because I was up for hours studying. Today was the first day of finals, and I hadn't prepared nearly as much I should have.

Which also means that I wasn't getting the high score that I knew would make my mother proud, and would make me a bit more self-confident. Of course, I lacked that considering the fact that my high school was filled with gorgeous over-achievers, ugh!

Opening my eyes, I saw the bright sun peeking through my closed shades, and I arose to let the sun through.

My eyes squinted as the bright, yellow light was in them, and I turned my back to it menaced by the change. I let my eyes adjust before turning around to face the day with myself and only me…_again_.

Arriving to my testing room, I took my empty assigned seat in the back, not greeting anyone as usual.

"Good morning," Mrs. Garrett said as she walked in, setting her bag on the desk located in the front of the classroom.

Mrs. Garrett stood behind her desk, opening her Apple laptop to take the attendance of this class. She was not a very old lady, but was definitely in the midst of her late forties. A quiet, single woman she is, but for some reason I could see that it was just who she was. Nothing drove her to it, and nothing kept her there, she was where she wanted to be; alone.

"As you know, today is the first day you have for finals. Now I know you're all restless with it being the end of the year, but I'd like you to pay attention, try your best, and follow the rules as stated from your last period teachers yesterday. You know how to act, you've been doing this for two years…Now I'm going to pass you your tests and a few number two pencils and I expect you'll jump right on it," She said, picking up papers and he little box of pencils.

The way she gracefully walked through the aisles with poise made me jealous. I knew that she wasn't the happiest woman alive, and I also knew that she wasn't depressed, but the way she waltzed by made me wonder how anyone could go through this life with composure like Mrs. Garrett did.

She whizzed past me, leaving my test and two pencils behind in her elegant trail before I could thank her, so I just opened my booklet, leaving that behind and starting in on the test that I was far, far unprepared for.

My breath usually when I ran across problems or questions that I had either no idea where to begin with, or I had no clue about at all. Of course it didn't help that the people who made this test phrased their questions like I had the IQ of Einstein.

With every five minutes I spent on one question, everyone else had already seemed to be pages ahead, leaving me behind.

This just wasn't right. Oh, it's okay to leave me alone in my personal life, but now it's okay to leave me alone in academics too? I knew this stuff, I knew it.

Whenever I glanced at someone, they were always flipping pages or writing fast. I looked down at my test, trying to hurry my brain for instant answers but I was blank.

This couldn't be happening. I know I studied for this.

My breathing went quick, and a strange rush made me spring out of my seat, letting my chair fly behind me.

Everyone jumped, looking at me to see why my sudden outburst just happened. Their staring didn't help my condition, I looked at the floor but it was moving in too many directions at once, and soon it grew eyes and was staring at me too.

I could barely hear Mrs. Garrett say, "Elle? Are you okay?"

But I couldn't answer because everything went black all at once.

There was that same field. It was all lit with the golden sunlight and I couldn't see any oncoming clouds in sight. He was there, and he was still the same sneering figure from the nightmare I vaguely remembered eight or so months ago.

My nightmare seemed to be on repeat because it played over and over, giving me every detail I'd missed before. It was inescapable for me; I was forced to watch this dreadful movie roll in my mind before I silently woke to my mothers' voice.

"How did this happen?" My mother questioned, and I could feel her hand on my forehead.

It was still black, but I could hear the outside conversations.

"She was taking the finals, and I guess, by what the witnesses say, it was just stress," I heard a woman answer.

Witnesses? I need witnesses for me being a complete klutz idiot? This was _so_ unfair.

"Oh…I see. So what about this testing situation? Can she go back in there?" My mother's silky voice asked, but it seemed darker than usual.

The other woman, whom I guessed was the nurse, said, "Hopefully she'll be able to join to the rest of them tomorrow."

A small scratch was in the back of my throat, so I coughed, letting the nurse and my mother become aware of my consciousness.

Before I forced the heavy top lids of my eyes lift, I mumbled, "Tomorrow?"

As my sight finally appeared, I looked to both of their incredibly weary faces, wondering exactly what mess I looked like right now.

Nurse Johnson, who I could now identify, was the first to speak.

"Do you think you can handle it?" She questioned, removing the cold cloth that had apparently been on my forehead.

I scoffed. "I think so…I was just having a really bad day I guess."

She smiled, revealing more wrinkles than she had when her face was plain. Her eyes searched me, as if looking for answers to questions she could never ask me.

"Well alright, I am sending you home for the remainder of the day, okay?" Nurse Johnson asked, helping me sit myself up.

A small rush went through me, letting me know that I probably wouldn't have made it very long today anyway.

"Sure."

My mother drove me home, asking questions here and there about my day, minus the fainting. I would give simple answers, always shying from eye contact like I often did with everybody. For the last nine months, I was completely changed, and even though I barely talked to her before, she noticed.

Of course, Irene was just as shy about confrontation as I was, so it was never a subject to stumble across.

The car stopped in our driveway, and I ran inside, flicking my shoes off at the door and making my way to the shower.

Undressing myself, I looked in the body-length mirror at the person staring back at me. As cliché to think it, I knew that the person looking back wasn't me, but a melancholy reflection of the past events which brought me sadness.

Who knew such an insignificant person could influence this change?

I shook my head in disgust and stepped in the hot shower water which awaited me. I stood still for a moment, letting the boiling drops cascade down my body, into the drain I was above. This felt so good.

However hot this water already was, I could still feel the cold creeping to me again, trying to engulf me in its depths; I turned the water warmer.

Now it was scalding, stinging as it made contact with my light skin, but I didn't stir or adjust, I just let it hurt. The front of my body was well acquainted with this heat, and I turned my back to the shower head to familiarize it too.

It was too hot.

I yelped, turning around to finally change the heat setting.

Day two of finals was going by fast, and I couldn't help but thank "God" for it. No dramatic scenes for me today.

As I stepped into the hallway, on my way to my locker, I started being followed by someone. Charles Deacon.

"Hey Elle, have you bought your prom tickets yet?" He asked, walking at the same pace, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

I scratched my neck, wondering how to phrase my response.

I settled on saying, "I'm not going."

Charles replied, "And why not? You don't have a date?"

"Even if I did have one, I wouldn't go. It's simply pointless. I mean come on, the band blows, I hate my class, and it would just cause a laugh to see me waltz around in a…_dress_." I answered, looking to his face.

"Well," he began, "okay. I think you'd look gorgeous in a dress. But if you don't want to go…then I guess I'm going to seem like a complete and total idiot…"

We finally reached my locker, and I said, "Why?"

He leaned against the other lockers, looking at me. "Because I was going to ask you, Elle Stuart, to be my date."

Charles had on a smug smile, and I just grabbed the book I was looking for, and shut the locker.

His attempt almost made me want to cry. I _should_ be saying yes. I _should_ be all giddy to be in a dress, and go with a nice, cute guy.

But I'm not because of…Caleb.

I sighed, touching his shoulder. "I'm sorry Charles. I would, but I…I'm not budging on my decision to bail out."

Charles looked down, letting his head droop in rejection a bit, but I just looked at the eyes that traced the floor.

Before he answered, something caught the corner of my eye. It was Caleb. He was standing a few lockers down, looking in his locker too.

I let my focus go back to Charles.

"It's alright," he said, "I understand. But you really would be beautiful."

To this I could see Caleb's head pop out from his locker, and glare at Charles back as he walked away from me, defeated.

His hostility towards him surprised me, considering that he didn't even like me. When he caught me catching the end of his glare, he gave me the same one, slamming his locker and walking in the opposite direction.


	4. Come Again?

**A/N: Here we are with chapter four, and still no reviews. Why that's okay! I haven't really done much on here yet, so they're yet to come!**

Another day passed, and a new one began. The sun rose just like it does promptly every morning. It set, like it grimly does in the evening, and of course, I was there to watch it disappear in the horizon and leave me in the dark.

I was sitting on the roof of my house with a copy of a book that I liked. There was quiet, so I read it in silence, waiting for the light to go away completely.

The last bits of sunlight beamed on my face, and I soaked it up. It was always nice to come here in silence and let the troubles of my day just drift some other direction, even for just a few minutes.

Re-entering my cluttered room, I set the book down on my bed stand, and switched my radio on. The volume was fairly loud, so I turned it down a bit, letting it play its hard, fast beat.

My bed awaited me, so I plopped myself on it, not holding a smile in that I'd needed for so long. I had just reminded myself of my childhood and when my father used to toss me on the bed. He was such a good father to me.

James Stuart, an archaeologist. He used to go on digs very often when I was young and he was sometimes away from home for a few months at a time. However, when he was home, my dad always kept us happy.

Although he never found anything that made us rich, or anything worth more than a double paycheck, he was always fascinated by his findings. Nothing pleased him more than to have the knowledge he coveted. A smart man he was.

I closed my eyes, smiling still, and letting a small sigh of satisfaction escape my lips as I drifted off to sleep.

A light tap woke me from my previously deep slumber, and I quickly arose to a dizzy spell. For a moment I thought the tap was merely from a branch of a tree and that I could return to my bed; but it continued, growing more and more impatient.

I made my way over to the curtained window, and I slid one to the side to see a person standing there. He was tall and burly, but not in a grotesque body-building way, just…perfect?

Oh my, I must be dreaming this all up, because through the smog, I thought I could see Caleb standing there, in front of me.

As fast as humanly possible, I flung the window open, straining to make out his familiar, yet changed features. This couldn't be him. Yet, there his all too well-detailed self stood before me, looking fierce as ever.

"Hey. Elle, uh, I need to talk to you." He said, looking directly into my eyes for the first time in nearly a year.

I stuttered on my response, "W-why do you think that I-I…that I want to talk to _you_?"

Caleb just answered, "This is more important than feelings."

A dead silence filled the air for a moment before he tried to push himself into my room lightly, but I struggled to keep him out.

"Caleb, stop." I ordered, and shoved him.

The next thing I knew, I saw Caleb stumble off the roof of my two-story home and to his death. I screamed after him, and soon raced down my stairs and through my front door to be at his side.

Into the warm, spring air I arrived at the exact spot that he had clearly fallen from my window, but he was nowhere to be seen. It was almost as if nothing had just happened here, in this spot.

Must have been another nightmare eating at me, I thought.

Cold hands placed on my shoulders made me shriek in surprise and then stare in shock as the pair of hands was revealed as Caleb's. He stood there with composure and unmistakable health; the perfect, new body I hated unblemished, unbroken still.

"Wa-wa?" I mumbled to myself as he let go and looked towards the ground.

He sighed, "You know it's unsafe to box with someone on the roof. And I understand you're angry with me, but I hardly guessed you would consider a death match to settle your emotional business."

Not a sound came from me, and I stayed bewildered by his condition; not a scratch. The trance faded after moments of staring his body down, searching for the injuries that clearly should've been there, but was not.

"This is insanity! You should be dead-or broken- and don't deny it!" I shot at him, hoping that my tone was as poisonous on the inside as it was the out.

Caleb said, "You're not wrong, but that's not why I'm here. As impossible and crazy as this sounds, I need you to forget what you saw, and just listen to what I have to say to you. Can you do that?"

"Yes," I retorted, shaking my head in annoyance.

We both looked towards the open field as the long grass careened and the night sky turned a brighter shade of blue; it was beautiful. After the moment, his gaze returned to me, waiting to start.

"I truly am sorry for how I've been treating you," he said, "That in its own is inexcusable and cruel of me. But that's part of why I'm here. You understand that I've changed physically since I came back from my aunt's last summer…and it's more than a physical change, but that's something we'll never talk about. I just came to say…to tell you that you need to stay away from me."

I laughed a bit before saying, "Isn't that what we've been doing for almost the last year? The parting of the ways?"

Caleb continued. "Yes, but no-I mean- no. If you see me at school, in the halls, just walk in the other direction."

"Oh," I started, "so I have to go _out of my way_ to avoid you? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I know I don't deserve this, but please just do this last thing for me Elle," His voice was cold and icy.

I could feel my lips tighten into a mocking smile as I muttered, "No."

He replied, "Look, this is hard for me okay? I have to go through this…_alone_."

I scoffed, letting my mind wrap around his last word before I decided to sum up a reply.

"You're alone? You wanna talk about being lonely, Caleb? Try having your best friend, possible love interest, leaves you unexpectedly; a mother who is has the balls of a toaster oven, and a dead father!"

Now he simply answered, "You see, that's the difference between our types of lonely Elle! You pushed yourself away from everyone by choice-"

Quickly I interjected, "Even you?"

For a moment he took that in and finally resumed, "You did it by choice. I, on the other hand, don't have a choice in this. I'm alone."

The word stung me again, but I allowed it to stay without an object as he went on.

"I know that everything is muddled and disfigured, and certainly not what it appears to be," Caleb stopped, as if anguished before he finished, "but I'm asking you to trust and believe me, like you did before this happened."

I smiled, closing my eyes before saying, "Caleb, I've _always_ trusted you…even when I wished I couldn't. But I _did_ lose my faith in you a long time ago."

And as unexpected as this was, a gamut of tears raced from my closed eyes, down my cheeks, and a loud sob escaped my throat. I couldn't control it so I just let it go; but it surprised me when I felt his heavy arms embrace my trembling, weeping self.

"Please don't cry, Elle. I can't do this…" I heard him mutter.

Although I didn't want myself to collapse all at once to him of all people, there was no preventing or stopping it now; now I was just a pail of secrets inconveniently spilled.

His chest felt like the safest place in a long time coming, and his breathing came just like my embarrassingly heaving bosom.

"I didn't mean for this to…I was hoping that I wouldn't have this affect on you." He said, stroking my hair a bit reluctantly.

With this in my mind, I sat myself up, wiping away the tears and saying, "Then don't go. Don't leave me alone again… I'm not sure of what's going on with you, but I know that…that whatever it is, we can get through it together…right?"

He let go of me completely, shaking his head.

"I feel horrible for doing this to you Elle, but I can't be with you…in _any_ way. It makes everything a lot harder being this close to you right now," Caleb offered, letting a gap between stay constant.

I said, "So you don't have the power to want? You don't have the power to make this decision…about _me_?"

Barely a moment went by as we looked into each other's eyes before he grabbed me in an iron embraced and kissed me passionately. I could feel the urgency behind it, and he let our lips touch for a half a minute before he pulled away and we stood serenely.

His hand stroked my cheek as he smiled and said, "I've wanted to do that for so long…but I-I can't!"

And before I knew what to make of it, he ran into the woods behind my house, leaving me alone in the coming light.


	5. You Can't Maim and Run

**A/N: So I'm at my cousin Neesha's (whom also has a fanfic, & is an awesome writer) and she's also working on her own story, Unhinged. This is the first update in a while…but I haven't drawn in a crowd to care just yet…so no angry mobs, for now XD. Well, here it goes. Hasta.**

The walk back to my room was somewhat saddening, but it didn't really hit me until I awoke the next morning. Fully rested and ready to go back to my mystery.

The ride to school was silent, my mother still mute, and I took the time to read a book I'd been procrastinating to finish. It wasn't because it was dull, just that I hadn't really had my heart into reading about someone else's life before I could grip mine. But now, my eyes took the words in and my mind wondered elsewhere.

"See you at the house hon," My mom said as cordially as she could muster. I climbed out of our crappy Honda and slowly walked into school. Finals were practically over, but there were a few days left of this torture.

Taking awkward steps down the corridor, I spotted my prey, ready to ambush, metaphorically speaking. Caleb was exceptionally good looking today; his hair a bit longer and tousled then normally.

I tried my best to approach him stealthily, but I was probably the last person to succeed at that.

Before he turned to me he said, "Elle. What is it?"

I sighed. "I just…wanted to talk, that's all."

"Did you even listen to what I said last night?" Caleb said, continuing his elegant stride.

I said, "Sure I did but…you know what? I don't accept that."

He stopped, laughed, and stared at me. "Well it's not your decision…is it?"

My confidence grew with every similar gesture he made, making me much more comfortable. "Couldn't we talk even a little?"

Caleb rolled his eyes and replied, "I'm not talking to you about last night."

He started walking again, and I followed him. "We don't have to talk about last night…we can talk about anything."

The way his face contorted, I could tell he was contemplating my offer but with some struggle. This big secret of his was really weighing down on me, and the more he struggled, the more I wanted to know everything. To have him tell me everything he knew.

"After school, I'll drive you home, but that's it." He finally caved, and my inner me was just giddy.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The makeup English exam was dreadful; it wasn't as fatal as it had been before but I hated it just as much. Every kid in my group kept looking at me, anticipating another faint or maybe even a seizure based on their hopeful looking faces. Fucking sheeple.

Noting the fact that even the teacher seemed to be detecting me closely, my judgment was tainted, and now I was just in it for the finish. The answers didn't matter, it only mattered that I could complete this without a trip to the infirmary and then get to him, finally.

My final question came sooner than I'd thought it would, and I had no reluctance in half-heartedly answering it and passing it in as my final grade.

It almost seemed like a race between my mind and my heart; each trying to pull me in two directions. The sane side of my mind was telling me to find Caleb and go with him, while my heart was telling me that this meeting with him was a mistake and I was setting myself up for another heartbreak.

But I knew that the heart can only be shattered so many times before it's completely lifeless, and that you can only express so much emotion before you're brain can no longer produce them. I was ready for this.

His car was sitting outside with him inside and the engine running. With no hesitation, I hopped into his car and we sped away into the blazing hot day.

But there was so much silence.

"This isn't the best way strike up a conversation…but I'm okay with originality." Caleb mused, gripping the steering wheel as we turned.

I replied, "I know, I'm sorry…it's just been so long, I'm not really sure what to say."

Silence let me know that he agreed with me.

"So," I began, letting myself breathe, "How have you been? How's your mom and dad? Ben?"

Ben was Caleb's 23 year old brother who still lived in their basement. He spent his good days smoking lots of weed, and googling porn. I almost never saw him without his scruffy, 5 o'clock shadow, which confirmed for me that he officially had no life.

"I'm good, Mom's good, Dad's good and Ben's still not clean." He put it simply, but I could still gather from his lack of detail.

I smiled. "It's good that most of your family is doing well…I miss them."

They had become like my second family, the ones that I easily found a bond with. Our parents even had a friendship like that of Caleb and me's but rest assured that even that faded after my father died.

"They, uh, miss you too. I mean I don't think I can speak for Ben because he's always too baked out of his mind to remember you…which is pretty pathetic if you ask me. I don't understand him." He said, half-smiling.

From the way he was gripping the wheel, you'd think that Caleb was holding onto it for dear life. It was very strange.

This time, he asked me something. "Have you taken any thought to what you're doing this summer?"

"I think I'm mainly gonna stay around here, you know, get a job and save up for college next year. I'm horrible at saving…so I'm sort of in a rut when it comes to that expense." I admitted, biting my lip with shame.

He smiled. "Yeah, me too. But I'm pretty sure that my aunt will be paying for my tuition wherever I get accepted…and that's still a mystery in itself…do you have any idea where you'd like to go?"

I answered, "Yes…I want to go to North Western. My father went there…"

I could tell that mentioning my dad made him uncomfortable, so I added, "Don't worry about offending me. It's not that big of a deal…You don't have to be afraid to talk about him anymore."

This didn't seem to relieve him because he hesitantly said, "He was, uh, a great…a smart man."

We sat in a normal, bearable silence for a few moments when I looked over at him. His blue plaid shirt, hardly buttoned, had a small crimson stain on it and by the way it glistened I knew it was fresh.

"What happened to you?" I questioned, staring straight at the quarter-sized spot.

Caleb looked down at himself, and suavely then covered the area to hide it. "Oh nothing, just poked myself with a stick when I was running in the forest the other day…"

The statement itself could have been construed very wrongly, but I ignored the opportunity to poke fun. Instead, I continued with the questioning.

"Are you sure? It looks pretty fresh to me." I leaned over and tried to examine his alleged wound, but he grabbed my hand before it even got a centimeter closer.

But it happened so fast. How could it of?

The sickening snap and sudden shriek from me also happened quicker than I thought it could. Before I knew it, my hand dangled there, very much broken and disfigured.

He came to a sudden stop on the side of the rode, and we both stared in disbelief. It was so incredibly foreign to my true shape…I believe I was too shocked to feel the pain yet.

"Are you…did…?" Caleb was wide-eyed and stuttering…and soon in complete panic as he sped to the hospital.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Dr. Bradford was a rather old doctor, and it made me nervous. The way his shaky hands held the clipboard, and the way his writing squiggled due to this shakiness made me reluctant to let him treat me.

"So, uh, Miss Stewart. This, uh, unfortunate break is very clean…How did you get it?" Bradford asked, his unsteady pen at the ready.

"Um…I was getting out of my friend's car and I shut my hand in the door." I lied, trying to make it sound true.

Dr. had a hard time accepting this and said, "Young lady, in order for that to happen, you need a lot of force, and even then it's too clean to have been done by a car door…So what _really happened?"_

_For some reason, this enraged me._

"_That is what happened." I said curtly._

_He coughed before saying, "Now, now Elle. It won't help me treat you if you lie to me. I may not be a young doctor, but I know that a car door didn't cause this."_

_That really busted my lid. "You know what, I don't need a senile old quack to tell me what happened. I closed my hand in a car door, and it may take someone really stupid to do it, but I did. SO SHUT UP AND FIX ME." I snapped, letting my voice increase._

_Dr. Bradford shrunk back from my poisonous tone, and I gave myself points for it. Although, I did feel somewhat bad for making a doctor intimidated from a person with a lack of authority; a teenage girl even._

_When he took a deep breath and assumed his rightful position, Dr. Bradford said, "I'm sorry for questioning your story Miss Stewart, but it seemed unlikely to me. Now, if you'll please wait in here, I need to get some test results from the lab. Stay here until I come back."_

_I nodded dully before quickly asking, "You don't by any chance know where my friend is, do you? The guy who brought me in?"_

"_He's in the waiting room…do you want me to invite him in?" Dr. asked, feeling better by my more polite, nice voice._

"_Yes, please." I said, adding the please for better affect. I mean, I thought that I could've given that guy a heart attack if I started in._

_The white, plain walls bored me, and I studied the tray next to me that had various sharp, scary implements on it. It made me shiver and I pushed they tray on wheels away from me._

_The door opened slowly, and Caleb also slowly moved into the room. He was looking at the floor, not me, and he wore the most tortured, anguished expression I'd ever seen. The scrunched brows and frown made me want to cry for him._

"_Caleb…" I trailed, flexing my good hand and gazing at him._

_He wouldn't make eye contact with me, which told me, even more so, how awful he felt._

"_Would you please look at me?" I requested, getting up off of the table._

_When he looked straight at me, he came closer and said, "You should sit down. You're hurt."_

_His voice was even more proof of how he felt. It reflected agony, too much for something so miniscule. I wasn't even angry at him…which surprised me even more than the actual event._

"_I'm okay. I can stand up." I offered._

_He shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "No you're not okay. I did this to you. This just proves my point. I can't be around you, I'm dangerous!"_

_His voice grew, like mine had with the doctor just before, but I wasn't afraid._

_I replied, "Don't say that. Just…just think of it like a debt…Think of it as something you at least owe me."_

"_If I do one thing for you, will you promise that we leave each other alone?" Caleb asked icily, and he gave me a glance of desperation._

_I seemed to swallow my heart in my throat. The last thing I wanted was to let him slip away again, even though I barely have his friendship even now. I needed him, but I needed answers too._

"_Yes." I choked out, letting my heart slowly sink back down to it's drooping position._

_Caleb was interrupted by Dr. Quack who came in with his clipboard of results. Joy._

"_So what's the verdict?" I spat, trying to get myself out of here as soon as possible._

_Dr. Bradford was quick to scan his papers for quick facts. "You're break should heal pretty well in the next six weeks. There's nothing very threatening to your health other than it's lack of use. No marrow in your bloodstream. I think you should be able to use it within the next 8 weeks or so. There'll be an appointment scheduled for 2 or 3 weeks from now to check on how it heals up and there'll be a casting appointment in the next 2 days as well…but other than that, I think you're ready to be discharged Miss Stewart."_

_Caleb shook the doctor's hand and thanked him as we walked out of the gloomy hospital. The sling my arm was in felt a bit awkward and I found myself immobile._

_I must have let a sigh of frustration out because Caleb said, "I'm really sorry Elle. You have no idea how much I am…I can't believe that I actually hurt you this way…I-I…this just seems unreal."_

_I admitted, "I can't believe it either…but I'm not angry with you, as odd as that sounds. But I will be if I don't get the answers I deserve. Caleb, you can't maim me and get away with it."_

_On the inside I was laughing at my remark, but I was completely serious on the outside, as was Caleb. The phrase 'maim me' must have really put the cherry on his guilt because when I thought he couldn't look worse, he did._

_So I quickly muttered, "I'm sorry for saying that. It was harsh…but it's true. This is getting ridiculous."_

_My quick laugh lightened him up, but soon, things got serious._

______________________________________________________________________________________


	6. The Truth is Just as Fun

**A/N: So same night, two chapters just to keep the juices flowin'. Hahahaha. But anyways, its fairly late and my cousin is fast asleep and mhm. So pretty much, enjoyyyy.**

We were sitting on the roof of Caleb's car, and it was close to sunset. The horizon was clear before us. The bright oranges and yellows of the sky were shimmering on distant waters, and they warmed me sufficiently.

I turned to look at his flawless face. A beautifully carved masterpiece of God, or whatever higher power the world was controlled by.

There was something inside that told me to smile, but I knew that this wasn't the time. It was time for the answers.

"So here we go." I muttered and stared intently to his sea green eyes. "What happened to you? The physical, mental, emotional, whatever change. What was that?"

He let out a sigh of defeat and then answered, "I'm not sure that you'll except what I'm telling you because its unreal even to me. And it's hard to try explaining something to you that you shouldn't ever have to believe or…sink into…"

The suspense was killing me.

"I understand that, I think. But there's no escaping it now." I said softly, but meant it.

Caleb grimaced for a few moments but continued on.

"I know. So, here it goes." He said. "My family from Europe…well they're very different from my family here. They are very strong and they have heightened senses. It's impossible to catch any of them…and you'd to best to stray from them if you haven't seen them outside for days. They're…we're…we don't eat like you…we're different…"

I wasn't sure I was following him, but I gave a nod like I understood.

"We are vampires." He said it plainly but cautiously waiting for my reaction.

My first thought was that he was kidding, that at any moment of me blank stare he'd begin cracking into hysterics. But when he didn't, I was frozen.

Not a breath left my lips, and my body was stiff.

"Elle? Are you okay?" Caleb asked, observing me closely.

I shook my head and said, "You aren't by any chance…kidding?"

He shook his head shamefully, and said, "You don't believe it, do you?"

"Well," I said. "people don't tell you that their family is the living dead. But…how? What? I…this doesn't seem plausible."

Caleb drew in a breath, which sparked more curiosity about their habits, and told me, "I know…are you...afraid of me?"

This was something I had to contemplate. I felt safe with him, but I knew now that he was…a vampire. A vampire who drinks blood and hunts and kills and is strong.

I glanced at my hang in it's pathetic sling, and thought of all the times he tried to keep me away from him…he must either want my blood or there was something else keeping him.

So I asked, "Do you have a hard time controlling yourself when you're near me? Is it…hard not to kill me?"

He gave a laugh before saying, "Of course it is. It's unbelievably painful. But so is sitting next to a deer. Blood is an addiction, but it's a necessity, it's what nourishes us…so all blood is desirable. Some more than others sometimes…but I'm surprisingly good with self-control."

Everything he said still blew my mind. It came out of nowhere, and it gave a sharp blow into my stomach; or so it felt. I leaned forward, grabbing my waist with my good hand and finally let this sink in.

He was definitely dangerous, a threat to my life. A time bomb ticking away, waiting for a moment when his control falters and his animosity gets the best of him…and me. 

The need for blood, the immortality, and the beauty. His appeal was to drawn in his prey.

"Elle! Are you okay?" He asked me hesitantly, not wanting to touch me.

If he did, he could easily shatter me, and I finally knew why he was so ashamed of hurting just my hand. It was so easy to damage me.

Caleb let me process the entire mouthful for a few minutes, and for that I was thankful. Every time I looked at his perfect face and body, I was reminded of the desire beneath it all. It should frighten me, and I should be trying to cover minimum safe distance, but I didn't.

I wasn't afraid of him. 

The more I thought of trying to stay away from him because of who he had become, the more I wanted to curse myself out. It didn't matter who or what he was, he was still Caleb. My Caleb.

"There's nothing that scares me more than to think you'd believe I minded." I finally muttered, and I looked straight at him.

His eyes widened a bit and he said, "You now know why I have to keep away from you…it's imperative that you never tell anyone this secret…because it could ruin my family."

I replied, "I would never plan on telling anyone anything. It's not even like I could get them to believe me if I wanted to anyway…but I still don't know why I should leave you alone…"

"Something worse could happen…and there are other factors that will threaten you…it's not going to be discussed, it's final." He laid it down sternly and hopped in the drivers seat of the car, starting the engine and waiting for me to hop in.

And I did so.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The drive home was silent, even though I wanted him to tell me everything. It was hard to have secrets with him, and I just wanted so badly to let everything out. 

So when we pulled up to my driveway, my mother was standing on the porch waving to us. This was odd, she never came out greet me.

She called, "Caleb, come on in!"

I gave him a glance before we both walked up my front steps and into my home. Nothing was out of order, it was the same as how I'd left it this morning. My mother stood a few feet away from us and studied my hand.

"Oh dear. Are you okay? The doctor called me and told me what happened. I can hardly believe you did such a thing." She said, and shyly smiled at Caleb.

"Oh and Caleb dear, I haven't see you in such a long time. How've you been? Or rather, _where've _you been?" She asked, and her voice was enthused.

This was just wrong.

"I've been well, but a bit busy with schoolwork and such. I'm sorry I haven't been by." He said, and even he was surprised by my mother's upbeat mood.

"Well I've already eaten, but you kids run along upstairs and I'll order some pizza for you!" She said, shooing us up the stairs.

Once we were safe in my room, the interrogation began again.

"What did you mean before, about other factors? What else is keeping you from being close to me?" I laid on my bed.

"I told you that it didn't matter." He growled, furrowing his brow.

I didn't want to take that for an answer. "But it does."

"Look, I've already endangered you enough! I don't want to do anymore damage than what has already been done! This isn't a game or a movie, this world that I've opened you up to is dangerous so don't underestimate it!" Caleb warned but he wasn't convincing me.

He stood at my doorway, like there was a threshold keeping him out. The invitation rule perhaps?

"Come in." I waved. "And I'm not underestimating this world, I'm just trying to understand it."

"The less you know, the safer you are."

I rolled my eyes. Why wouldn't he tell me?

"Why can't you be my friend? Or rather, why can't you be around me? Besides the fact that you could physically hurt me…or do you just not _want to be…here?"_

_His eyes closed in frustration and he let out a guttural sigh._

"_It has nothing to do with you…it's about my people and I cannot tell you. I've been sworn to secrecy, and it's something I have to carry within me despite the fact that I want to tell you everything. But I can't!"_

_I thought his voice was still echoing through the house while I went after him. Down the stairs we were headed._

"_Why are you leaving? This needs to be fixed!" I yelled after him._

_We completely stopped in the living room._

"_I need to go. You shouldn't even want to be five feet near me!" He argued._

"_It doesn't matter that you're," I looked to see my mother on the couch, "that you're not the same…"_

_My mother looked like her sad self again. "You don't have to hide it, Caleb. I know what you are…"_


	7. Sugar Coated Lies

**A/N: So I'm still at Neesha's house, and I'm guessing that this is my last day here. But HAPPY NEW YEAR, this is the first entry of 2009. Enjoyy.**

**RECAP:**

"_I need to go. You shouldn't even want to be five feet near me!" He argued._

"_It doesn't matter that you're," I looked to see my mother on the couch, "that you're not the same."_

_My mother looked like her sad self again. "You don't have to hide it, Caleb. I know what you are…"_

I shot a quick glance at Caleb to see that he was just as surprised as me. But maybe she was just confused, and we'd have to straighten here out.

"What are you talking about, mom?" I asked, smiling a little. Shit, that was a dead giveaway.

She was shaking here head. "You know what I'm talking about. Caleb is a _vampire_. And, there's a few things I have to tell _you _Elle."

This wasn't happening, I was sure of it. I was hallucinating or dreaming. How could she possibly know that?

My eyes fell back to Caleb, and he was looking at me with narrowed eyes. They weren't quite blaming, but they were intimidating enough for me to look back at my mother.

"How do you know that?" Caleb asked, his voice cold as ice.

"I've known what you would be before you even did, kid. Now settle down. There are more important matters at hand here." My mother looked at me before continuing. "Elle, what I have to tell you is upsetting, and you may not understand…but you have to know."

I sat on the couch beside her, worried.

"You…I'm…this is much harder to say than I thought it would be. I'm not your biological mother…I'm your aunt. I've taken care of you since you were born. You're mother left me in your possession when you were barely a month old."

I almost wanted to laugh. She was pulling my chain somehow…but when she didn't smile and she put her hand on mine, I got a feeling that this was real.

My stomach turned for the worst, and it was starting to feel hard to breath. Like my lungs were removed from my nose. Painful.

"Wh-what are you talking about? You're lying." I spat, removing my hands from hers.

A small set of tears raced down her cheek as she said, "I'm afraid I'm not…"

When I looked at Caleb, his head was down and he was standing awkwardly in front of us. His face was shameful, like he had done something wrong.

"What about dad?" I questioned, tears filling my own eyes.

"James Stewart isn't really your father…he's your uncle…your name isn't Elle Stewart either, we had it changed when you were born for safety." My "aunt" moaned, her hand firmly placed on her chest.

I shook my head angrily. "Why would I need safety? What the hell is going on?"

"There's much I can't explain to you right now. But there's someone you can see for the answers you seek…when you're ready of course." She placed a piece of paper in front of me with an address sloppily written on it.

I didn't know what to do. Should I cry? Should I take this piece of paper? What the hell should I do? This wasn't something that happened everyday, especially not to me.

So I just grabbed the piece of paper in my shaking hands, and walked slowly upstairs to my room. I flopped on my bed immediately, and just laid there for a while.

Soon I heard footsteps approaching my room, but they were anything but light. They must've belonged to Caleb who was coming to try to comfort me, even though we both knew that he'd never say the right thing. It just not something you fix.

Tap, tap. He pushed the door open and walked in. But he just stood at the foot of my bed staring at me for the longest time.

"I-I, I'm not really sure what I can say to make you feel any better…because if I say anything like 'I'm sorry' or 'I understand' it'll just be worse…so I've decided that I can take you where you need to go. That address on the paper. So you can figure things out for your self." His voice was compassionate, but still his usual serious tone. Being a comfort had become awkward for him after all this time, because I'm guessing he never had to be.

All I could really do was move my eyes back and forth, but that couldn't very well give him my answer. Yes. I wanted to go, but at the same time I didn't want to believe what had plainly been told to me. Because for some reason, I couldn't convince myself that it was the truth.

"Y-yes…b-but not to-toda...today." I muttered, closing my eyes and letting one hot tear fall. My sobs came too, and I decided that if this was the truth, that I truly didn't care about myself anymore.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

The next morning I woke up, and my throat was burning. I wasn't sure why, I hadn't talked very much last night. In fact, the only sounds I remember making last night were sobs. Even those weren't very loud.

But now I sat in my dark room, the sun hadn't come up yet, so I'd guessed it was still before 6 o'clock. There was a slight breeze from my open window that rustled papers on the desk in the corner of my room, and when they started flying around my room, I got up.

An instant head rush. I was very dizzy, and almost fell back on my bed, but one of my hands gripped the wall next to me.

When I was steady enough, I knelt to the floor and began picking everything, and placing it under my bed where it couldn't fly away, like my life just had.

I took a few deep breaths before sneaking downstairs to the living room. In the darkness I could see that used Kleenex tissues littered the floor, and that whomever left them here, was gone now. It was obviously my mo-…my _aunt_.

I was taking my sweet, slow steps to island so that I wouldn't fall over. The dizziness was always here, but I could live with it…like I'd have to live with everything else.

Once I made it there, my hand found the cordless phone and I dialed Caleb's number. It rang and rang almost five times before I got an answer.

"Hello?" He said groggily.

I took a deep breath, trying to form words but my throat was sizzling with hot pain.

"Elle? Is that you?" He questioned, and his voice was getting more and more awake sounding.

Even though it was painful, I said, "I'm ready."

It was around 3:50 a.m. when Caleb arrived at my house. I was dressed, but then again I wasn't really sure I remembered getting dressed for the occasion. Everything seemed to start bleeding together and I was having a hard time remembering things that I had just done. A pointless haze.

So as I stepped out into a somewhat lighter environment, I looked down at myself to make sure I had gotten dressed at least. And I had…I was wearing clothes that I was in the dream I was having this night. Or maybe it wasn't a dream, but reality. Like I said, everything was covered in a thick, pathetic haze.

Hopping into the car beside him, he was silent for the first few minutes. And when I looked at him I saw that he had large black circles under his eyes, and I wanted so badly to apologize to him, because I had put them there, and I kept screwing things up with my own problems.

"This is a four hour drive, are you sure you want to go tonight?" Caleb asked, slowly pulling out of the driveway.

I nodded my head to say yes as I rubbed my neck with my cool hands. It felt nice on the fiery feeling. It was beginning to feel better compared to how it was when I'd first woken.

So we kept driving and my eyelids turned so heavy that I had to close them. And when I opened them back up, I spotted a small sign that said 'Burlington'. That must've been the town we were supposed to be in because the sky was a great deal lighter.

The pain in my throat was pretty much all gone except for a slight tinge of soreness. But it was okay now. This town we were in look fairly hospitable itself, and everything was still quiet for it was still early in the morning.

Caleb said, "So you're awake? We're in the town, now I just have to find the address."

When I looked at him, he was holding a coffee that still had steam coming from the slot on top, so we stopped somewhere nearby while I was still asleep.

He pointed to another steaming cup in the cup holder, and I supposed that it was for me. I picked it up and took a sip; it felt nice in my throat.

"With a town this size, I'm sure that we'll get there in less than 20 minutes." He said, making a turn onto a street called 'Leeland Road'.

The houses were all good-sized and dark, like the entire town was still asleep. And maybe it was, I was just used to places that were awake by 6 o'clock.

"It's quiet here." I said, gulping more coffee and looking out the windshield.

"She's spoken." Caleb noted, not smiling, but trying to make me feel less…like _this._

_And it worked, but I didn't smile, because it wasn't time for that just yet._

_Caleb held that familiar piece of paper up and seemed to be counting aloud. "One forty-five…one fifty-five…one seventy-one….one eighty-three. We're here Elle."_

_I looked to where he was pointing and it was a house that was a bit different than the others. A wrap-around porch, three stories, a large round window up at the top, suggesting an attic. It was painted blue and white. The shingles on top weren't perfect, many had fallen off from weather._

"_Do you want me to come with you?" Caleb asked, stopping the car next to the sidewalk and looking straight at me with a sweet, caring face._

_I thought about it for a moment. Placing my hand on his, which was on the gear shift, I said, "Yes."_

_We sat like that for a moment, just staring at each other. I was so glad that he was here, that he was the one helping me through this hell of a mess. One that was so sudden and out of nowhere._

_So together, we walked up to the screen door and knocked._


	8. Coalitions and Confessions

"The name on the paper said Jane Gregory." Caleb told me, gripping my shoulder.

I nodded, took a deep breath and waited for the inhabitant to answer. She had long, sandy blonde hair that grazed her shoulders. Her eyes were dark, probably brown, and her face was pretty.

"Can I help you?" The woman asked rubbing her shoulders from the chilly air.

I didn't have to speak, Caleb did. "Yes. We're looking for Jane Gregory."

"That'd be me…" Jane said, her eyes narrowing in confusion. She studied us for a moment before saying, "So what'd you need to see me about?"

Caleb was about to speak again, but I put my hand up to stop him. "I'm Elle. Elle Stewart…well, I'm not actually really sure what my name is…but I was told I could come he-"

I was interrupted because the woman named Jane jumped through the door and hugged me tightly. The gesture made me a bit uncomfortable, because I didn't know this woman, so I let my arms dangle as she embraced me.

When she let go she said, "Come on in. I'll make us some tea."

She scurried in and I just shrugged at Caleb before we both entered cautiously. The inside of the house was like looking at a typical suburban home. The woods floors creaked when you walked on them, and the rugs had sophisticated patterns on them. The walls were mostly painted white, except for the kitchen, which had grapevine wallpaper.

Jane was by the stove putting a pot of water on for the tea. I noticed that Jane was rather skinny for her age, probably in her late twenties or early thirties.

When she turned she had a large smile on her face. "I'm sorry for just huggin' you like that…I just haven't seen you since...well a long time."

"Since I was born?" I asked, crossing my arms.

Her head nodded, and she then ushered us to a living room that didn't seem to fit the rest of the house. It had dark wood panels on the walls and the floors were dark wood too. The couch was one of the ugly tweed ones, and there were even matching chairs.

I sat on the couch, Caleb sat next to me, and Jane sat in one of the chairs next to it. Her face was overwhelmingly joyful, but I could see something else in here eyes. It was unidentifiable for the moment.

"So, I came here to get some…answers to my questions…or problems." I said simply, and leaned back.

"We're all looking for answers…but I'm here to give you yours." She said, and cleared her throat. "What do you need to know?"

I was nervous, and shaking a bit. What if this sounded dumb?

"Well…my mom-or my aunts name rather, is Irene Stewart…and I was told that I wasn't her biological daughter…" I sputtered bit by bit.

"I see. She wasn't lying I'm sorry to say dear. There's a lot to discuss, but some of it you may not belie-" Jane stopped mid sentence, and slowly shot a glare at Caleb.

"You brought a _vampire _here?" She hissed.

I said, "How do you know what he is?"

She shook her head, trying to shake off her glare. "We may not be the men in the family, but we can still sense when one of their kind is here. I'm surprised it took me this long…this one's had too much animal blood to smell him."

He stayed calm, but he let himself glower. "I don't drink from humans."

Jane let out a dark chuckle. "But you will. Someday. You'll get weak, and cave, and feed off a human, and it had better not be Evelyn."

She was pointing to me, and then I asked, "Whose Evelyn? And what the hell are you talking about?"

"You're Evelyn Searcroft. That's your real name; your birth name. You got it changed when you went into hiding after you were born. And now I'm going to explain all of the blanks to you." Jane stopped, took a deep breath, and began. "You're Aunt Irene is your mother's sister. Your mom gave you to her shortly after you were born because it wasn't safe with her. You see, on your father's side of the family, we have…not a curse, or a blessing, just a circumstance." She paused, eyeing Caleb once more. "Every other generation, the wives give birth to shape shifters. And they are always men. Or so far they always have been. There's never been a female…which is a shame if you ask me."

My eyes widened. "What's a shape shifter?"

"A person who can take the form of any animal in the animal kingdom. Our line of shape shifters have the native form of the wolf, so that is the animal they change into most often. It takes incredible strength to take any other form…and some of us never can break from our original shape." She said this like I knew what she was talking about.

"Okay…so I have cousins who are shape shifters?" I questioned, confused by myself now too.

Jane shook her head. "No. Your father's generation were shape shifters. You're cousins, your generation, will be giving birth to the next set. Some have already come into this world."

I took a few deep breaths. This information added onto yesterday's was getting too overwhelming. I was afraid that I wasn't going to be able to handle anything else.

"It's dangerous. Are you sure you want your sweet vampire knowing all of this?" She asked, looking at him.

Before I answered, Caleb said, "I already know."

Both of us stared at him. He looked back and forth between the both of us, and clasped his hands together. It was like he was nervous…

"I'm not a threat to either of you. I have no wish to kill Evelyn or even you." Caleb finally projected, but we were still unsure.

"How could you keep secrets like that from me? How do _you _even know all of this, and I don't when it's _my _family?" I questioned, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

"I studied your kind when I was turned." He answered.

That seemed logical enough, but I wasn't sure if he was saying that just to save his own ass from questioning. So I just let it go, and started asking more questions.

"Why wasn't it safe for me to stay with my parents?" I asked, placing my hand under my chin.

Jane said, "Because there was a vampire coven after our family. They were tracking and kill our aunts and uncles. And your parents knew that if they were found, that they would've killed you too."

"So…are they alive?" There was a little spark of hope in my otherwise lifeless tone.

Her face turned forlorn, and a crease above her eyebrows came. "No…they died. They were trying to hard to save your fathers brothers and sisters that they couldn't get away themselves. Everyone blames themselves for it…because they were one of a kind people; so compassionate and caring. I'm sorry Eve."

The name was so foreign to me, and so was the information. How could all of this be? What was I going to do after this…return to my life? One that doesn't exist anymore…

My eyes pinched shut. "Who are you?"

She answered, "I'm your cousin. My real name…"

I could tell that she was uncomfortable with Caleb here. Him being a vampire, and knowing all of our family secrets was risky. So I politely asked, "Caleb…could we have a few moments alone, please?"

He obeyed, but kept his glower when he walked out of the house.

"My real name is Charlotte Searcroft. I am one of your cousins. Most of us live with different names because the vampire coven that was after our aunts and uncles could be after us too. We're not sure why…we never have been…but until we find out, all of us have to live in secret. But now I'm not sure that's possible…your vampire shouldn't have been here for that entire conversation…it jeopardizes our lives with his knowledge. I cannot believe I allowed myself to speak of it while he was here. We're certainly doomed." Jane…or 'Charlotte' said, her eyes worried and her tone the same.

It was hard for me not to trust what she said, because she just had that ore of automatic trust. At the same time, however, I felt like everything was made up.

So I was torn.

"He won't say anything, I promise. He and I have been friends for almost six years now; since before he was turned. So don't be afraid…" I told her, placing a hand on hers for solace.

She gave me a weak smile. "But I should be. This isn't something that you can just tell anyone. Especially a vampire. They tend to turn on people…you know, some movies on wrong. They have a way of making you drawn to them, and then they turn out to be something you never thought they were. You be careful Evelyn. No matter how much you want to trust 'Caleb', remember that he's not what he appears to be."

This was absurd. Of course he was. I've never been given a reason to mistrust him…yet.

"Wow…It's going to take some getting used to with that name." I admitted, looking at the pictures on the far wall. There were many of them.

Charlotte must have noticed that I was staring at them because she said, "You want to look at the pictures? These are the only things I have to remember this family…we hardly ever keep in touch for safety. But we will once all of our generations shape shifters are born. We have a sort of initiating."

We walked over to them and I watched as she pointed them out.

"This one here's our cousin Phoebe….that's Owen and Paul…and that's my mother Gabrielle…." She continued to point them out as I watched and learned about the family I never knew I had.

For a few hours I stayed and we talked, and Caleb faithfully sat in his car waiting for me.

It was bizarre, the entire thing was bizarre. Like I was dreaming. Was it not enough to find out my best friends a vampire? I had to discover that my family breeds shape shifters…and I was still unclear about what that really meant.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye then…" Charlotte said as we stood facing each other on the porch.

I nodded. "I guess it is….am I ever gonna see you again? Or is it…?"

She thought about it for a moment before saying, "I'm sure it's okay to come visit me. As long as we don't draw attention to it, we'll be fine…come whenever you'd like."

I wanted to smile for her, but I just couldn't. "Thank you…for telling me everything. I guess I'll see you sometime soon…"

We hugged and I waved goodbye as I hopped back into Caleb's car. He seemed to be asleep, so I lightly stroked his arm. He was surprisingly icy, and I kept caressing him until his eyes fluttered. When he opened them he glanced at me and yawned.

I took my hand away and he started the engine.

When we were back into town it was just after 3 o'clock. I had asked him not to drop me off at my house; to take me somewhere else, anywhere.

So we drove down to the place we used to go a lot. There were a set of docks built many years ago, and at one point they were charred from a fire. They were sturdy enough to walk and lay on, so that's the place we'd always go. Together or alone.

And this was the first time I'd been here all year. The last I was with him, just before he left for the summer; where we first kissed. It was chaste, but it was the first.

I found myself sitting close on them, my feet dangling off of the edge and Caleb sitting beside me. We sat there for a few minutes, taking in the beauty before us.

The water was glistening from the setting sunlight, and the bridge far beyond cutting across it let sounds of passing cars dispatch to us.

"Elle, or Evelyn. There's something else…something that I need to tell you." Caleb said solemnly.

I turned to him, my face welcoming. "Go ahead…I can take just about anything right now."

He nodded his head and sighed. I could tell that whatever this was, it was hard for him.

"There's a reason I know everything about your family…and it isn't because I studied families like yours…it's much, much harder to convey to you…I was hoping that I never would."

"Well…please tell me. There shouldn't be secrets between us."

"Okay," Caleb began, "you already know that I was transformed by my family in Europe last year…but I never told you why."

My head nodded in agreement, gesturing him to go on.

"My family is very old. Hundreds of years old. And in that time they've met their foes and their friends…and shape shifters are mutual enemies. Like vampires and werewolves. Oil and water. There's no point in trying to mix something together that will never blend…"

He paused, looking intently at me. It was strange. Caleb had never looked at me like that before.

"Okay, so _your _point is…?" I egged him on to finish.

"The vampire coven that murdered your parents and is searching for the rest of your family…is mine. I was turned because they discovered that I knew you, one of the people to give birth to the next generation of shape shifters…I was sent here to kill you." Caleb said.

Immediately, I got up and started running. He wanted to kill me. This entire time I thought he was trustworthy and able. And now he knew where Charlotte was, he knew that my family was in hiding, and after he killed me, he would tell his coven, and all of us would die.

My heart raced not because I was running, but because I was scared. Scared to die, scared that my family was going to die, and scared that the one person I thought I could rely on would kill me.

Considering the fact that one of my hands was broken, and it wasn't even casted yet, it slowed me down; especially with this annoying sling. This sling could kill me, I realized, so I threw it off and kept running.

I hadn't seen Caleb come after me right away, and now I looked back to see if he was after me.

But when my head did a 180, I collided with a hard wall.

Caleb.

I screamed louder then I'd ever heard myself scream before. It died out when I looked at my killer, and realized that I was a goner.

"Elle. Stop. You didn't let me finish!" He growled, gripping my good arm. "Calm down. I'm not going to kill you."

"How can I trust you? You've been lying to me this entire time?" I shrieked, trying to free myself of him but failing miserably. It was terrifying.

"I know, I know. It's not something you would've taken ever so lightly. I'm sorry for lying to you, but you need to know everything. There shouldn't be any secrets, remember? So please, just hear me out, and after this you can choose your path. If you never want to talk to, I don't blame you, hell I'd encourage it." He pleaded with me, and I saw those beautiful comforting eyes again.

I was still scared and lied to, sure, but I couldn't stop myself from trying to milk everything I could for answers. And here they stood, with the one person who was always what he appeared to be…until lately.

"O-okay." I shuttered, holding my broken hand.

It was throbbing because my sling was gone, but that wasn't anything compared to the feelings that raged within me. The feelings that could eat me up inside or the feelings I could block out completely.

"Yes, I _was _sent here to kill you, but the whole reason I tried to keep you away from me is so that I could protect you from this truth. I don't want to hurt you Elle, there's no worse feeling than the one I would have from killing you. I care far too much about you to even consider it…and all of these long months it's been a struggle to keep myself away from you, but I had to for your own good." He stopped because he was almost crying. "You're the _one _thing in this world that made sense to me…and then I got ripped from this world and into another with ideas of murder and enemies implanted in me. Why couldn't you have just listened to me? It's dangerous if I'm with you…I won't kill you, but for God's sake the wire is just getting _thinner _and _thinner _as I go along…"

I saw the tears in his eyes, but I knew that he wouldn't let them out. I felt my heart jump and a dry lump form in my throat. Listening to him just made me melt even more. I understood him for the first time in a long time…I knew why he did what he did. It was all for _me_.

And then I knew it was the right time to smile. But it was also the right time to finally express some emotion for everything that was just dropped on my shoulders, and what would make my load heavier on the stumble through my life.

So I smiled, but then I busted out into tear and sobs, and sank to my knees. This was so horrible. My life was horrible, and I wasn't saying that for the benefit of feeling sorry for myself. It truly was.

My mother wasn't my true mother, but my aunt just pretending my entire life, my real family was being hunted by _vampires _because they were _shape shifters_, my best friend is a vampire sent to kill me, but is failing and finally, my life is in danger, _forever_.

The icy hands that I never expected wrapped around me, and Caleb was kneeling on the ground too. He kissed my forehead lightly and stroked my hair. It was the best and worst feeling I've ever experienced in my life.

Like the feeling of good news and bad news. When you hear the good, you feel great, and then when you hear the bad you want to feel awful and you do, but you can't help the good feeling either.

You _want to feel bad or good, but you can't choose. So you're both._

_For moments I let him hold me while I battled the good and bad news within myself. Either way, when I was finished, I would just have to live with what I knew, and try to keep myself alive. It would be a weight, but I knew that someday I'd accept it, and everything would be okay somehow._

"_Thank you." I said, taking a whiff of fresh air, and stepping away from him. "It's really…hard to understand all of this at once…but that helped. You're not going to tell your family about Jane, are you?"_

_He shook his head immediately. "Of course not."_

_We stood up together and I grabbed my sling a few yards back. Putting it on I realized what I needed to do to settle my good-bad feeling._

_So I walked up so Caleb, wrapped my good arm behind his neck, and kissed him as passionately as possible._


End file.
